mined to oppose their coming on board, cautioned them against acting as they had formerly done; told them that they had asked a great deal, and had obtained much; and that he would not suffer them to proceed to demand more; that they ought to be contented; and that, if they offered to meet in convention, he would order the marines to fire on them. The delegates, however, persisted, and the Vice-Admiral ordered the marines to level their pieces at them. In this situation, he again admonished them, but without effect; a slight scuffle ensued, and one of the delegates, all of whom were armed, fired at Lieutenant Sims of the marines, and wounded him. At the command of Mr. Simpson, the First Lieutenant of the London, the marines then fired, and killed five seamen, two of whom were delegates. The whole crew of the London now declared open hostility against the officers and their loyal supporters, turned the guns in the fore part of the vessel towards the stern, and threatened to blow all aft into the water, unless they surrendered. Circumstanced as they were, to this imperious menace, there was no alternative but submission.

In consequence of the death of their comrades, by the firing of the marines, the seamen were proceeding to hang Lieutenant Simpson; but at this trying moment, the ViceAdmiral rushed forward, alleged his own responsibility, and assured them, that that officer had acted only by his orders, agreeably to directions received from the Admiralty. The seamen instantly demanded these instructions, and they were immediately produced. The mutineers then confined ViceAdmiral Colpoys, Captain Griffith, and the other officers, to their cabins, and made the marines prisoners. On the 11th of May, four days after the renewed symptoms of mutiny had appeared, the crew of the London expressed a wish that the Vice-Admiral and Captain Griffith should go on shore, which they accordingly did, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Cole, the Chaplain.

The fleet remained in this mutinous state till the 14th of the month, when Earl Howe arrived at Portsmouth, invested with full powers for settling the different points in dispute.

As he also brought with him an act of parliament, which had been passed on the 9th, in compliance with the wishes of the seamen, and a proclamation of pardon for all who should immediately return to their duty, affairs were, for a time, adjusted to the satisfaction of the sailors; the flag of disaffection was struck, and, two days after, the fleet put to sea to encounter the enemy.

Captain Griffith, it is believed, did not return to the London; but was, in the same year, appointed to the Niger 32, stationed on the French coast, and from her removed to the Triton, of the same force. In these ships he captured three privateers, La Rosée, of 14, L'Impromptu, of 14, and La Delphine, of 4 guns. He was afterwards appointed to the Diamond, a fine frigate, in which he accompanied the expedition against Ferrol and Belleisle, in the year 1800, and the command of which he retained until the spring of 1804. He was then appointed to the command of the Dragon 74; in which, after serving some time off Ferrol, under the orders of Sir Edward Pellew, he joined Sir Robert Calder's fleet, at the close of the action with the combined squadrons of France and Spain, July 22. 1805, on which occasion the Dragon had four men wounded. He subsequently went to the Mediterranean, in company with the Queen, of 98 guns, RearAdmiral Knight, and a fleet of transports, having on board a body of 5000 troops, commanded by Sir James Craig.

In October 1807, Captain Griffith was appointed to the Sultan, a new 74, being one of the fleet employed in watching the port of Toulon. On the 12th of August following, whilst lying in Mahon harbour, Minorca, that ship was struck by lightning, which killed nine men, and badly wounded three others. The momentary alarm and consternation produced throughout the vessel, may be more easily conceived than described. Had the lightning struck the hull instead of the jib-boom, the destruction of the Sultan would have been inevitable. Fortunately, after running along the boom, and reaching the cap of the bowsprit, which was also rendered useless, it fell into the water close to the bows.

The subject of our memoir was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, August 12. 1812; and soon after appointed to a command on the coast of North America. In September, 1814, he conducted an expedition up the Penobscot River, for the purpose of bringing that part of the province of Maire under the British dominion, which was attended with complete success, and the establishment of a provisional government for the district. The troops employed on this service were under the order of Lieutenant-General Sir J. C. Sherbrooke. The United States' frigate Adams, lying at Hampden, a considerable distance up the river, was burnt by the enemy to prevent her from falling into the hands of the English.

Rear-Admiral Griffith remained in America until relieved by Sir David Milne, in 1816; and, at the expiration of that officer's period of command, was again appointed Commanderin-Chief at Halifax, where he continued until December 1821; having been promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on the 19th of July preceding. Previous to his departure for England, he received an address from the council, magistrates, and inhabitants of Halifax, regretting that any circumstance should occasion him so soon to return to Europe. He assumed the name of Colpoys after the death of his uncle Admiral Sir John Colpoys, K. C. B., which occurred on the 4th of April in the same year.

In January, 1830, Vice-Admiral Colpoys was a third time appointed to the Halifax station, united with that of Jamaica; and, subsequently to his departure, was nominated a Knight Companion of the Bath, May 19th, 1831.

The death of this distinguished officer took place on the 8th of October, 1832, at Ireland Island, Bermuda, at the age of sixty-five. He had been unwell for some time, and was so perfectly conscious of his approaching dissolution, and calm under this conviction, that he made every arrangement that was requisite for the service, having sent a vessel to Barbadoes, to apprise Commodore Farquhar, the second in command, of the probable fatal termination of his illness; he

pointed out, also, during, it is believed, his last ride on horseback, the spot in the church-yard where he desired his remains to be interred.

He was of a spare habit, tall, erect, and dignified. His manners were austere, reserved, and thoughtful; his features were prominent, and bore all the hardy memorials of long

service.

Vice-Admiral Sir E. G. Colpoys married the widow of the Hon. Sir John Wilson, one of the Judges of the Common Pleas. His eldest son, Captain Edward Griffith Colpoys, R.N., who had the command of the Cruiser 18, died at the Cape of Good Hope in 1831. Another, Henry Griffith Colpoys, was, in December, 1830, promoted from the Falcon, at Bermuda, to the command of his father's flag-ship the Winchester, and was made Post in November last. A third, the Rev. John Adair Griffith Colpoys, was married October 14. 1828, to Miss Anne Sumner, only daughter of the Lord Bishop of Chester; and was collated, in the same year, by that lady's uncle, the Bishop of Winchester, to the Rectory of North Waltham, and, in 1831, to the Rectory of Droxford in Hampshire. The Admiral's eldest daughter was married, January 8. 1818, to Captain Charles C. Johnson of the 85th foot, third son of Sir John Johnson, Bart., of Montreal, Upper Canada.

Principally from "Marshall's Royal Naval Biography."

224

No. XIII.

WILLIAM MORGAN, Esq. F. R. S.

LATE ACTUARY OF THE SOCIETY FOR EQUITABLE ASSURANCES ON LIVES AND SURVIVORSHIPS.

WE have derived the following brief memoir of this able, estimable, and venerable man, from "The Christian Reformer."

He was the son of William Morgan, of Bridgend, in the county of Glamorgan, and of Sarah, daughter of Rice Price, of Tynton, in the same county, the sister of the celebrated Dr. Price. By his father, who was of the medical profession and in very considerable practice in the county, he was descended from an ancient family, who for many generations possessed an estate at Ystrad y Fodog, in Glamorganshire.

He was born at Bridgend, on the 6th of June, 1750; and commenced his education in his native town, whence, after a short time, he was removed to a school in the neighbouring town of Coychurch, and subsequently to the free school at Cowbridge*, where, under the tuition of Dr. Williams, he made a rapid progress in his classical studies, and became, in the course of a short time, the head boy of the school. In 17-, he quitted Cowbridge; and, after a short time spent with his family at Bridgend, and in acquiring under his father a knowledge of dispensing medicines, which he retained in

*This school was endowed by Sir Llewelin Jenkins, in the reign of Charles II. This school enjoys considerable advantages in Jesus' College, Oxford, where there are two fellowships, two scholarships, and an exhibition exclusively confined to students educated at this school.—Malkin's South Wales, P. 115.